Martinsburg daily gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1887-1887, 1887-07-19
/. TUESDAY, JULY 10, 1887.
A NATIONS FALL.
AN AFRICAN KING FINDS JOY in
THE WINE or THE PALM.

= LsuIeF,A wee Brings REORGANIZATION TO
His People--A whole Tribe Of Negroes
on 4 spree-General Destruction Of
Property.
Not il native was to be seen in an up
right position. Most Of them were asleep
under tie awning Of their miserable dwell
ings. Al few were sitting up. and these
glzed stupidity at the passing raft, and one
or two reached over to arouse their com
panions and call attention to the presence
of q stranger in the neighborhood. But
no one rose and ran to the waters edge, as
IS generally the case when European
passes by in q raft.
This tribe, said the native, lis not
large one and it is steadily diminishing.
Once il was powerful and numerous and
given to war and conquest. Bit not long
ago there was king Of the tribe who
found great Joy in the wine Of the palm,
no new thi lg indeed for either king or a
common man to do, but with him the joy
wasso exceeding great TINT he wished con-
t.rJlally to he drunk, and, as a matter of
fact, gsatificd his wish without stint.
For there are many palms all about, as
you see, and all men are anxious to bring
that q tie King which pleases him. The
king crank vast quantities of wine, and
although the royal example would have
been enough to demora1ize the people,
they We're more strongly urged upon
the downward path by the kings direct
orders. 1t was not enough that he should
himself glow with the fiery excitement,
but lie must have company, and as the
love Of intoxication grew upon him he
commanded first al his chiefs and cap
tains, and then his warriors, and finally
And it is said, indeed, that they had fine
times together. They began their drink
ing Us the sun went down, and when it
was entirely set they were long way
toward madness. And presently, when
the moon was well up in the sky, a great
rage seized them all, and they set about
destruction of all things within their
reach. In bands of from six to O score
they roamed about the village knocking
down fetichcs, tearing up the cooking fire.
places before the houses, and even de-
.molishing the. houses themselves. And it
came to pass that as the habit of madness
grew upon the community it took express
sion chiefly in the destruction of the dwell
ings, and none were spared the disaster
that accompanied each nights debauch.
The king himself, with wanton hand, gave
the first blow to the posts of his own
house, and it was leveled to the dust.
and in the morning when all were head
weary and as those who awake violently
from the first hour Of sleep, they had
to find shelter for themselves against the
doubly strong rays Of the melting sun.
And in their desperation and repentance
and exhaustion, the best they could do
was to erect such temporary shelter as you
see there upon the shore. 1t is true that not
all the houses were destroyed on the first
great night when the tribe was seized with
palm rage, but one after another they
were all sacked And it IS further trne
that with the rising Of the sun there were
many who felt deep and sickly repent
ance Of their folly, the more SO as they
saw one and another die under the burn
ing rays Of that great being which IS at
once our cherisher and our bitterest foe.
But the king was stern and tesolute in
this one thing alone, that all the people
SHOULD deluge themselves with wine, and
when any resisted with feeble protest he